4th Circuit Court

DOJ Charges Former CIA Agent with Leaking Classified Info in Post-9/11 World

A former CIA officer has been criminally charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly leaking classified information that may have been used by journalists. The criminal complaint (PDF) filed today against John Kiriakou, 47, in the Eastern District of Virginia obscures details of the accusations against him, the…

Jan 23, 2012 9:15 PM CST

‘Anonymous’ Claims Credit for DOJ, FBI Website Shutdowns, Retaliating for Megaupload Case

Responding to a U.S. Department of Justice announcement today of a major criminal case against operators of a website accused of pirating copyrighted material, the activist group of hackers known as Anonymous has claimed responsibility for subsequently interrupting service on the DOJ’s website and others. The DOJ said the timing…

Jan 20, 2012 2:20 AM CST

Feds Shut Down Megaupload.com, Say Indicted Site Operators Are Part of Worldwide ‘Mega Conspiracy’

Updated: A day after federal lawmakers blinked in the face of an unusual Internet lobbying campaign by websites unhappy about proposed legislation intended to protect copyright holders, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced a shutdown of a major file-sharing website and the indictment of seven individuals and two companies…

Jan 19, 2012 10:59 PM CST

Post-Sentencing Facebook Comments Put NinjaVideo ‘Phara’ On Fast Track to Prison Cell

The woman known as the “Phara” of a now-defunct movie downloading site apparently made two crucial miscalculations when she was sentenced earlier this month in a criminal copyright-infringement case. First, Hana Beshara posted about her 22-month prison term on a Facebook account for NinjaVideo and elsewhere, in a manner that…

Jan 17, 2012 10:40 PM CST

Federal Judge Blocks Part of New SC Immigration Law, Says It Infringes on Feds’ Role

A federal judge in South Carolina has temporarily blocked provisions of a new state immigration statute that were to go into effect Jan. 1, finding the state was infringing on the federal government’s prerogative to enforce immigration law. Among the new rules nixed by U.S. District Judge Richard Mark Gergel…

Dec 22, 2011 7:43 PM CST

Federal Judge Says Thousands of Tweets and Posts, Many Urging Target’s Death, Weren’t Criminal

Saying that a religious leader targeted by some 8,000 tweets and blog posts is a public figure, a federal judge in Maryland yesterday dismissed criminal charges against a former friend charged in the cyberstalking case. The messages, many of which urged the death of Alyce Zeoli, a Maryland-based Buddhist leader,…

Dec 16, 2011 7:23 PM CST

Prosecutors Worry That Defense Lawyer Comments Are Putting Witnesses in Danger

Unlike their counterparts in New Jersey, who have brought a high-profile criminal case against a prominent defense attorney in Newark, federal prosecutors in Maryland aren’t accusing local attorneys of intentionally making trouble for witnesses cooperating with the government. But at least twice, federal prosecutors say, defense lawyers have inadvertently disclosed…

Dec 7, 2011 1:02 AM CST

Owner to Pay Record $209M re W.Va. Mine Explosion That Killed 29

The owner of a West Virginia mine that exploded in 2010, killing 29 men, will pay a record $209 million to resolve its criminal and civil liability concerning the disaster and what officials called a workplace culture that valued productivity over safety and ignored applicable law. The agreed payment by…

Dec 6, 2011 9:45 PM CST

New Smartphone Suit re Data-Sharing Software Targets Apple, Wireless Cos., Device Makers, Carrier IQ

In at least the third would-be class action filed since technology blogger Trevor Eckhart last month reported that smartphones are providing carriers with private information about individual users, eight major defendants are accused in a federal lawsuit (PDF) filed Dec. 2 in Delaware of violating wiretap law via their common…

Dec 6, 2011 1:44 AM CST

Recent Opinions Show 4th Circuit’s Shift to Left; Court Is ‘Almost One of the Most Liberal’

A federal appeals court once known for its conservative opinions has undergone a marked change since five of President Obama’s judicial nominees won confirmation. The Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has taken an apparent “left turn,” the Baltimore Sun concludes. Currently, the court has nine judges nominated…

Nov 22, 2011 1:01 PM CST

Twitter’s Privacy Policy Defeats Efforts by WikiLeaks Associates to Keep Info From Feds, Judge Rules

A federal judge in Alexandria, Va., today ruled that three individuals have no reasonable expectation of privacy in their Twitter accounts because they agreed, by clicking, to boilerplate terms of service which include permission for Twitter to provide information to law enforcement. Their lawyer unsuccessfully attempted to argue, according to…

Nov 11, 2011 1:06 AM CST

Senate Confirms Floyd to 4th Circuit, Zipps to Succeed Slain Arizona Judge

The Senate has confirmed six federal judicial nominees, part of a deal to address a backlog of 27 nominees. Among those confirmed is Jennifer Zipps, a magistrate judge elevated to the federal district court in Arizona, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. She will succeed slain U.S.…

Oct 5, 2011 12:26 PM CDT

Ex-Prosecutor Sues, Says USERRA Required Baltimore to Rehire Him After Reserve Training

A former prosecutor has sued the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office, contending that its failure to rehired him after he completed military training for the U.S. Army Reserve violated the U.S. Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. Capt. Andrew Gross, 28, also named the city of Baltimore as a defendant in…

Sep 21, 2011 4:46 PM CDT

Real Estate Lawyer Is 2nd Attorney Convicted in Quad Cities Mortgage Fraud Case

An Iowa real estate lawyer who says he acted in good faith when he helped close nine real estate transactions for a rogue client was found guilty today in a federal mortgage fraud case in Davenport. The transactions that got Marc Robert Engelmann, 60, convicted of bank fraud, wire fraud…

Sep 13, 2011 11:38 PM CDT

Federal Judge Got It Wrong, Va. Lacks Standing to Challenge Health Care Reform, 4th Circuit Rules

Developing: In a ruling today, the Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to strike down a controversial health care plan backed by President Barack Obama, nixing a challenge to the legislation by the state of Virginia. A federal district court earlier held that the health plan didn’t…

Sep 8, 2011 6:58 PM CDT